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Monday, 21 January 2013

EQUILIBRIUM

The title of the film itself is
self – explanatory, when all or any conditional system are competing or against
each other are balanced to an equal state of stability. So in state of a variety
of contexts in the film, the core equal state of balance is the ideology film
has created. The ideology the film created is one of a kind. Taking key factors
existing ideology and crafting it into its own unique form and presenting
itself as a form of Nazi like dictatorship regime. This fascinating look into
ideology of the film fascinating enough, Equilibrium is set in a dystopian
future but what makes this film even more unique to analyse is the film itself
can never age. Though the film is a science fiction movie genre we are deliberately
never shown any kind of futuristic gadgets or technology. If we look at past
science fiction films like “Minority Report” or “The 6th Day” the
technology used seemed to be a fantasy but many years later we now have the
technology the film has so making them obsolete. So many future science fiction
films will lose its prestige of a future world because the technology they are
using is already exits. Kurt Wimmer created Equilibrium in such a way that the
film can possibly be a hundred years old and still can be seen as the future. This
alternate reality doesn’t focus on the gadgetry like other science fiction
films but rather on; the ideology, dystopia, the regime and the people. By not
showing any technology it means nothing in the film can be obsolete and dated.

When the film starts we are
presented with the title “EQUILIBRUIM” in immense white capitals. The title is
another fine example of the film and what lies ahead of the audience. If we
look at the title and the architecture in the city of “Libria” both are a fine
representation of each other. The architectural influence the film gained from
is Fascist architecture which is a combination of modernism and nationalism
which the Nazi’s used to unify their citizens to create nationalism into their
hearts bringing a new era of nationalist culture making it possible to rule the
entire nation. Equilibrium had the same idea of portraying Libria as nation
under ruthless regime. It was important to make the audience feel like a
citizen of Libria by making gigantic government buildings presenting itself as
a powerful symmetry fortress with thick solid walls to make the individual seem
insignificant. Many of the locations used in the film are actually surviving
buildings from the Third Reich. By comparing both the city of Libria and Adolf
Hitler’s grand design “Welthauptstadt Germania” (World Capital Germania) the
future vision of Germany of reshaping Berlin into the capital state of the Nazi
Reich both cities look almost identical.